Owin #38 — On the road

The Needle sailed into Little Bern’s protected harbor just after midday.  While Arn had called it a small town, Owin admitted being a bit surprised by the amount of industry visible as they made their way through the shallow waters outside the harbor.

Three respectably sized warehouses sat near the docks and over thirty buildings dotted the tree covered hill behind those large structures.  In the harbor, at least eight small craft were tied up and Owin felt it likely that many of the open piers would be filled with fishing boats by the end of the day.

“The shallow harbor limits Little Bern’s size,” Arn said in answer to Owin’s unspoken observations.

As does the fact that Solva’s only a half-day walk away, Owin thought as he took his seat and grabbed an oar.  Most people would simply go there instead of coming here.  With Arn on the tiller and Gwen lowering the sails, he and Calvin had to row the craft in the final quarter-mile.  When they reached the pier, Arn’s expert hand parked The Needle against the dock with hardly a bump, impressing Owin yet again with the versatility of the small craft.

No one came out to greet them and Owin quickly started gathering his belongings.  “Don’t leave anything behind,” he reminded Gwen. The condescending look she gave him brought a grin to his face. “We’ve got a long way to go today, so we won’t have time to come back,” he offered as way of rationalizing his comment.

“Yes, Dad,” she said as she grabbed the sword she had taken from the bandit.

Owin looked away. While he had helped Elsin after Gavin had died, he never considered her to be a daughter.  He did not even consider himself old enough to have a daughter Gwen’s age. The realization that he actually was took a moment to settle in his mind. Seeing the Captain moving toward him, he called out. “Arn, anything you need us to do before we finish our business?”

“No,” Arn said slowly, “If you’ve got your things, let’s head to the shop.  I’ll give you a token of introduction for Brent.  You’ll need to find Brent to get setup for whatever Denton has in mind.  You’ll find him at the Green Leaf tavern most nights.”  Arn picked up a pack from the deck and slung it over his shoulder.  “Calvin, watch my ship until I get back.”

“Aye, Captain,” Calvin said as he finished tying off the ship.

Owin and Gwen followed Arn to the ‘shop’, which turned out to be a blacksmith shop. The proprietor, a man wider in the shoulders than Arn, but two inches shorter, wiped the sweat from his face and put aside the hammer that was in his hand. “Brother,” the man said, nodding his head to Arn while taking in Owin and Gwen.

“D’mir, this is Owin and Gwen. They are just passing through, but I owe them some money before they can get on with their journey.”

The sweat drenched man nodded his head. “You know where it is.”

Arn, shifted the equipment he carried to his other shoulder and headed into the house that was attached to the back of the shop.

Owin took a moment to look around while he waited for Arn to return. Bits and pieces of rusty metal lay about without much appearance of organization.  However, the few finished pieces looked well made and strong.  Owin noted the uniformity of the links of the chain lying across the anvil and knew that did not occur by accident. “Are you as good with steel as Arn is with sailing?”

D’mir narrowed his eyes. “What are you looking to have made?”

Owin pursed his lips. Arn had never mentioned his brother and families did not always share beliefs and ideals, but knowing that Arn trusted his brother with large sums of money gave Owin enough comfort to ask the question. “I don’t know what I need yet, but it may be that I will need a hook with three long barbs that are equally space. It needs to be at least a two-feet in width and have a loop on the center post to tie on a rope.”

“What are you planning to fish out of the water with that?”

“You never know. Something at least as large as a fully loaded man.”

D’mir wiped more sweat from his face. “I can make a grapple. Not a lot of call for them, but I’ve done it before.”

“How long would you need? And do you know anyone in Solva you trust that could get you word if I decide I need it?”

D’mir walked over to a bench, picked up a dirty mug, and drank the contents.  He put the mug down and then shouted. “Boris!”

After a short period of time, a young man about Gwen’s age came from around the back of the building. He had two buckets of coal in his hands. “I’ve got the coal, sir.”

“Not that,” D’mir said. “See these two here?” When Boris nodded his head, D’mir continued. “Boris makes a run to Solva every two days. Among other things, he stops at Cornelia’s, which is small shop on the Boulevard. He’s normally there by midday and then runs home afterward. You want something made, wait for him there and let him know. I should be able to have him bring it back on his next run.”

Owin allowed a smile to come to his face. “That would be excellent.”

“What’s excellent?” Arn asked, coming from the house with a pouch in one hand.

Arn tossed the pouch to Owin and Owin caught it easily. He really wanted to count the coins, but could not risk insulting the man.  If he knows what I used to do, I hope that would keep him from cheating me. “Just looking to make a deal with your brother. I don’t know for certain what I might need yet, but….”

“Well, D’mir does good work.”

The blacksmith shrugged. “How you planning to pay?”

Owin looked at Arn. “You had enough to cover our deal on the boat?”

Arn nodded his head.  “And the token is in the pouch.”

Owin glanced again at the chain and decided to take a chance. While he did not know that he would need anything from the blacksmith, he had no way of knowing if Arn would make good on the last crown either.  At least this way, I have a better change of getting value from it. Turing to D’mir, he said, “Arn owes me one more full crown. Can I have him pay you in exchange for what work I might need?”  Seeing opposition building, Owin quickly added.  “If I need something worth more than that, I’ll pay the difference. But if I don’t, or don’t even need anything from you at all, you keep the crown.”

D’mir pursed his lips. He glanced at Arn and then back to Owin. “Deal.”

Owin shook the man’s hand and then turned back to Arn. “Thank you for space on your ship. When I am done with the task, I’ll get word to you for how to transport my friend.”

Arn stepped forward and shook Owin’s hand. “You and the girl saved my life, I’ll get your friend where you need her to go.”

“Thank you,” Owin said. He turned to Gwen. “You ready?”

“Sure,” she said with a smile. “I love long walks.”

Continue to next episode.